Effective Leadership

Standards for Effective LeadershipAs a result of the enactment of many new federal and state laws, education today is faced with the challenge of educating all children equally. These new laws and regulations require a stronger connection between school leadership and pedagogy as states are demanding higher accountability for individual student achievement.

The question has become, are the individuals that are entrusted with leading today’s schools highly capable of practicing the art of leadership? The National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA,2002) states that the enactment of standards will assist to establish accountability measures and enhance student achievement.

As a result of these concerns, national standards have been designed and are being used to provide school leadership behaviors and practices for school leaders.

The essential questions being addressed by standards are what do individuals need to know and be able to do in order to be an effective leader in today’s schools?

ISLLC (Interstate School Leader Licensure Consortium Standards) developed six standards that focus on the knowledge, performance, and disposition of school leaders. A review of these six standards provide guidance and a shared vision of what school leaders should know and be able to do. Each standard has a set of indicators of effectiveness in each of these three areas.

ISLLC STANDARDS

Standard 1:
A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community.

Standard 2:
A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.

Standard 3:
A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by ensuring management of the organization, operations, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.

Standard 4:
A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by collaborating with families and community members, responding to diverse community interest and needs, and mobilizing community resources.

Standard 5:
A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner.

Standard 6:
A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by understanding, responding to, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context. (Green, 2005)

Accompanying these six ISLLC Standards are 183 indicators. Forty-three indicators describe the knowledge needed for school leaders; 43 indicators make reference to the disposition of a school leader; and the remaining 97 address performance outcomes required by a school leader. Each of these standards are written relative to the school leaders’ primary responsibility to provide opportunities for success for all students.

Knowledge Indicators - These indicators identify the “minimum” knowledge base that is necessary to accomplish the task as described by each specific standard. These indicators describe what the school leader needs to know in order to fulfill the requirement of each ISLLC Standard. School leaders will need the knowledge base appropriate for task accomplishment.

Disposition Indicators – In the running of a school, the leader has to work with a great variety of people, including the professional staff, service personnel, community members, and parents requiring a disposition that will permit the effectiveness of the leader. Beliefs, values, and the leadership commitments will influence the effectiveness of the leader’s disposition.

Performance Indicators – The leader will need to take specific actions and steps to ensure that desired outcomes are achieved. It is these actions about which the performance of the leader will be evaluated relevant to its success.

Some states believe that all prospective school leaders should be able to demonstrate proficiency on the ISLLC Standards prior to receiving a license to practice as a school leader or district leader. At the time of publication of this book, nine states (Arkansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia) along with District of Columbia, required prospective school leaders to demonstrate a level of proficiency on a standards-based assessment for licensing. The assessment instrument being used by these states is the School Leadership Series, a part of the Educational Testing Service offering two standard-based assessments, one for school leaders and one for superintendents.

NPBEA STANDARDS

In addition to the standards being used to promote effective leadership practices and making judgments about granting licenses to future school leaders, some school accreditation agencies use these standards for university preparation programs. One of the major players in the accreditation arena is NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education) working with NPBEA, which has developed their own set standards to be used in the accreditation process.

Standard 1.0:
Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a school or school district vision of learning supported by the school community.

Standard 2.0:
Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by promoting a positive school culture, providing effective instructional program, applying best practices to student learning, and designing a comprehensive professional growth plans for staff.

Standard 3.0:
Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by managing the organization, operations, and resources in a way that promotes a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.

Standard 4.0:
Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by collaborating with families and other community members, responding to a diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources.

Standard 5.0:
Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner.

Standard 6.0:
Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by understanding, responding, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context.

Standard 7.0:
Internship. The internship provides significant opportunities for candidates to synthesize and apply knowledge through substantial, sustained, standards-based work in real settings, planned, and guided cooperatively by the institution and school district personnel for graduate credit.

These two sets of standards are similar in content and approach to the practicing of the art of leadership. All of the standards have made a clear impact on the leadership of school and the practice of leadership.

The Future

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is only one of many federal and state mandates that will impact the leadership in our school today, tomorrow, and in the future. As leaders of the future, we must be prepared for the changing educational needs and its leadership responsibilities, and to meet the demands of accountability from all stakeholders.

For additional information on leadership standards:

Websites:

Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards
www.ccsso.org/content/pdfs/isllcstd.pdf

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
www.ncate.org

NCATE Standards
www.ncate.org/standard/m_stds.htmry

National Association of Elementary School Principals
www.naesp.org
References

Green, Reginald L. (2005). Practicing the Art of Leadership; A Problem-based Approach to Implementing the ISLLC Standards. 2^nd Edition. New Jersey. Pearson Education.

Kuhns, Gregory M. (2005). Connection Between Leadership and Pedagogy. West Virginia University Dissertations.